All polluting coal-fired power plants will be closed by October 2025, the Government has confirmed.

Ministers said they would implement limits for the amount of carbon dioxide coal plants can emit from October 1 2025, which will mean all power stations that have not invested in technology to cut their emissions will have to cease operation.

The move implements a pledge originally made in 2015 to end "unabated", without technology to cut carbon emissions, coal generation in Great Britain by 2025.

Publishing its response to a consultation on implementing the phase-out, the Government said it expected the majority of the UK's remaining coal power stations to close or invest in emission-cutting technology in the early 2020s.

Existing EU regulations, a price on carbon which makes the polluting fossil fuel more expensive as an energy source than gas and poor economics of coal power are likely to lead to all but 1.5 gigawatts of power to shut before the 2025 deadline.

"We expect that the losses in activity associated with the closure of unabated coal generators will be compensated by increased activity in new, clean generation.

"There is a notable opportunity for the UK to become one of the most advanced economies for smart energy and related technologies."

The announcement comes after a slew of "green" records were broken in 2017.

The shift to renewables, with record moments of output for solar, wind and hydropower, meant new low levels of carbon pollution from electricity were seen in 2017.

The cost of new offshore wind tumbled in the latest Government auctions for support for the technology.

Last year was hailed by environmental campaigners as the "greenest year ever", with 2018 expected to see an even cleaner power sector but there were calls for more Government support for low carbon electricity to reduce dependency on gas.

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